WCU Stories      February 12, 2019

A member of a European royal family, who lived quietly in Cullowhee for two years while attending WCU classes, will marry his college sweetheart this summer. Louis Ducruet ’15 (left), grandson of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and his longtime girlfriend Marie Chevallier ’15 (right) are planning a summer wedding in Monaco, the tiny country on the French Riviera where they live. 

Ducruet and Chevallier met six years ago when both were attending Skema Business School in France. They transferred to WCU in 2013 to study business administration. Chevallier now works in Monaco as a hotel banquet and convention coordinator. Ducruet is a scout for AS Monaco Football Club. 

At WCU, Ducruet is remembered as unassuming and pleasant, an avid soccer fan who spoke several languages. He participated in men’s club soccer and volunteered at the Community Table, a nonprofit organization in Sylva. WCU classmates and most of his instructors did not know about Ducruet’s royal lineage. Ducruet’s mother is Princess Stephanie of Monaco, daughter of Princess Grace and Rainier. The family, the House of Grimaldi, has ruled Monaco since 1297.  

During her time at WCU, Chevallier was a French tutor at the Writing and Learning Commons. Chevallier said the couple chose WCU because the College of Business offered programs in both sport management, his preferred field of study, and her major, marketing. They wanted to come to a U.S. university, she said, and WCU’s location appealed to them. 

“We wanted to experience the real, deep America,” she said. “We will remember the beauty of the place within the mountains, the serenity and the strong school spirit.”